My favorite bit is the take off from stoplight and run it out to 6,500rpm or so in first.second .. autos will not do that..
And yeah I highjacked your thread.

The DCT will hold first all the way to 6500 rpm even in auto if you do a quick take off from a standing start, and possibly if you keep your foot in it keep pulling all the way through second or third racing for the redline. Now unless you were entering a freeway from a dead stop usually maxing out second gear is about as far as you can legally get on public streets from a dead stop.

It comes from an interview I saw with one of the CEO's of I believe it was BMW (Could be wrong though), who said the only reason manuals in higher end cars even exist anymore is because of the North American market.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holden

^^ And where would that be where "most" foreigners prefer DSGs and the like? I go to Europe nearly every year, and I'd wager that at least 80% of the cars are manuals (although it seems that it's closer to 95%).

Doesn't mean that "most" of them wouldn't "like" faster-shifting automatics as you say, but I'll stick with the observable facts for now, and bless that continent and its inhabitants for maintaining a driver's utopia.

AUTOMATICS are for kids. And lazy people. And wimps ("Waaa! I spend too much time in bumper-to-bumper traffic every day to drive stick. Waaa!"). And people who would rather be doing almost anything other than driving or being engaged therein (you know, like putting on makeup, cradling their Big Gulps and/or Big Macs, texting or blabbing with their cell phones plastered to their ear, NOT checking their mirrors or signaling, or camping out in the left lane and going the same speed as - or slower than - those in the right).

Oh, wait - that's it: Automatics are for AMERICANS.

There are many sports cars and exotics that have an automatic transmission.

Did Nissan put an automatic in the GT-R because they are selling it to lazy wimps?

i don't know how to answer - i can't say that i hate my dct, and i don't believe that sticks are for kids. In a perfect world, i would drive the heck out of a manual: They are way more fun, cheaper to maintain, and it puts me in greater control, but the reality of my daily commute makes an auto a necessity.

If i ever were to buy a second vehicle, it would definitely be a manual.

So, to answer properly - i like my auto, but i will always prefer a manual.

Figured i'd throw my opinion out on this. Some of you know I got in an accident recently and there is a potential chance my car it totalled. If it is I have already said that the next focus I get will be a manual for sure.

Don't get me wrong, I did like the DCT. It was pretty good for an auto. I like that in Sport + mode if I shift up or down it shifts but it did have it's problems.

I guess with me I want a manual because that's how I want to drive my car. I just find it more fun so yes, if I could go back i'd get the 5 speed.

It comes from an interview I saw with one of the CEO's of I believe it was BMW (Could be wrong though), who said the only reason manuals in higher end cars even exist anymore is because of the North American market.

Makes sense to me. In fact, I do recall that the M5 - gasp - is going to drop the manual altogether. The flip side, however, is that I'm pretty sure Porsche's primary motivation in developing the Tiptronic back in the day was to sell more cars in the USA… But, yeah, that was back in the day.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chefocus

You really think transmission choice gives you some sort of deep insight into the driving style and habits (not to mention nationality) of each driver? Laughable. And more than a little ignorant.

Ignorant? No, but admittedly a rather sweeping, knee-jerk generalization written in mock anger in response to the somewhat offensive and unfortunate "sticks are for kids" choice offered in the poll.

Given that I've visited over 30 countries on six continents - and have driven on four of those six - I maintain that, rather than being "more than a little ignorant," my comment is actually more than a little true. Sure I've seen far crazier drivers in other countries (although it's hard to beat Miami), but when you talk about distracted, oblivious, inconsiderate, and lazy drivers, the US takes the cake. Coincidence that automatics proliferate here? Maybe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chefocus

As for your opinion on what makes someone an American? Don't be a troll.

But it's so much fun to make you take the bait.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EggYolkBill

Out of curiosity, what percent of that percent are new cars vs older models?

Never considered that. However, given my European experiences taking taxis, renting cars, riding with friends and family, and peering into the windows of cool parked forbidden fruit, I'd say it's about the same. For now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EggYolkBill

Obviously this statistic of yours is not based on any real information and simply your observations

What part of "I'd wager" and "it seems" made you think I was presenting my numbers as facts, or even as statistics?

But, since you asked, Google "percentage Europe cars manual," and you will see a number of links that demonstrate my guestimates were right on the money. For example, see sentence three here:

My apologies to the OP for hijacking this thread somewhat, but you kind of asked for it with "sticks are for kids." I'll stop now, but as a goodbye alternative to my "ignorant" "rant," I present this snippet from a very amusing article on the Volt by Pulitzer Prizewinner Gene Weingarten, who - although an "obnoxious proselytizing proponent" of manual transmissions like me - manages to state his polemic far more eloquently than I:

--------------
"This would be a good time to address an issue I'd hoped would be pivotal: This car is designed to annoy people like me, by which I mean obnoxious, proselytizing proponents of clutch-and-stick driving.

I consider Americans' love affair with the automatic transmission to be a national disgrace, symptomatic of our softness as a people. This preference is lazy, unsophisticated and dumbed-down -- as I see it, philosophically inextricable from our lard-butted, couch-potato affinity for junk food, junk TV and celebrity gossip.

The Volt doesn't come with a stick shift option. I was poised to hate it for that reason alone, if necessary -- my fallback position -- until I learned that the car, basically, has no transmission at all."
--------------

Yes I realize that his use of "unsophisticated" undermines his argument (well, opinion) a bit, as modern automatic transmissions are, of course, extremely sophisticated (not that he was using the word to describe transmissions). Nevertheless, the article is still a great read, and can be found here:

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